The attention span of a sparrow
by TheDrawingDemon
Summary: Hiccup always thought his father didn't see him as his kind of Viking. But what made him think that. And when did he start caring about being a real Viking?This fic is all about that. This takes place 10 years before the first movie when Hiccup is five years old.


**Alright, another one shot! Since my one shots all had much better reviews than my bigger stories and I really enjoy one shots I will keep posting one shots until I finally make up a big story that will stay interesting the entire time for both me and my readers :p**

 **Anyways, I thought about this story when I read the page about Stoick on .com. (very easily found by typing Stoick Haddock into Google or any other part of the internet. There's only one Stoick Haddock after all.) To be more specific: I read that Stoick's main problem with Hiccup in the first 15 years of his life were that he ignored orders and seemed to be very reckless. And that Hiccup thought Stoick had a problem with Hiccup because he was small and weak.**

 **So, now comes the explanation of the story itself (my explanations are so long!). I was thinking: Hiccup said in the episode 'Hiccup as a buff man' that he had been trying to prove to his father that he was his kind of Viking for most of his life (I think that is what he said if I remember correctly). But I have this head canon that when he was young, so from birth until he was four or five or something, he didn't think about proving himself to his father. Because most kids usually don't really care what anyone thinks of them when they're young. I think something must have caused Hiccup to think his father was disappointed in him every time because he wasn't ''Viking material''. And I have always been wondering how Stoick gave up on training Hiccup and how he became Gobber's apprentice (with any luck we'll see that in HTTYD 3. Really hope they show that.)**

 **So here it is. My little head canon. All of this is fiction and completely made up, but I hope you like it! :)**

 **I DO NOT OWN HTTYD!**

It was a sunny day on the island of Berk. There were many people outside, performing their daily routine. The snow had decided to take a break and there was no sign of dragons except for the occasional flock of terrible terrors. Meanwhile, noise could be heard in a clearing deep in the forest.

The noise came from Stoick the Vast, five-year-old Hiccup, Spitelout Jorgenson and five-year-old Snotlout Jorgenson. Stoick had left to train his son at sword fighting that morning and of course Spitelout was there too. He wouldn't miss a chance at showing his own son's perfect sword fighting skills and would gladly boast about it. Especially to his chief and previous rival.

Like his father, Snotlout loved showing everyone how great he was at almost everything. Hiccup didn't show much interest though. He had the attention span of a sparrow. Someone had to watch him every second of the day because one moment he was doing something like training with a sword, the other moment he could be who-knows-where doing who-knows-what.

He was different, but Stoick knew that inside his small frame he had potential for greatness. He would be the strongest of them all one day.

Now Hiccup was trying to hit the training dummy Stoick had set up with his sword. It wasn't going very well but Hiccup seemed to be enjoying himself well enough for now. Snotlout was hitting the other training dummy almost perfectly while Spitelout was watching and giving instructions now and then.

''Your boy isn't doing very well, is he Stoick?'' said Spitelout with a big smirk. Stoick just rolled his eyes.

''He's just a late bloomer. He will get better.'' They argued for several more minutes. First it was about their sons and then it was about the village.

Finally, Stoick turned around. Hiccup was no longer training with his sword but was instead looking at a bug that was sitting on top of the training dummy. Stoick sighed and walked over to his son.

''Alright, that's enough for the day.'' He said. They walked back to the village together, leaving Spitelout and Snotlout behind.

They stopped at Gobber's Blacksmithing Forge. Stoick had thought about taking Hiccup with him while he was doing his chiefly duties but decided against it as Hiccup would get bored anyway.

It was very hard to believe but there was nobody in the village Stoick trusted with Hiccup more than Gobber. Gobber could be very irresponsible and if you looked at him you could easily assume he wasn't someone you should trust with children; however, he was quite fond of Hiccup and Hiccup loved staying at the Forge while Gobber was working.

Gobber was just working on an axe when he saw Stoick and Hiccup coming closer to his shop.

''Hey there! Coming to keep me company again, are you?'' he said to Hiccup. He looked at Stoick who looked quite frustrated. He knew Stoick wanted to talk about something with him and he knew Hiccup wasn't supposed to hear that. It was grown up stuff. He turned to Hiccup again.

''Why don't you go to the backroom over there and go draw something? You can show me when you're ready.'' Hiccup's face lit up and he ran to the little backroom Gobber had made for him.

When Hiccup had disappeared behind the curtain that split the Backroom from the main building Gobber turned to his friend.

''Alright, what's the problem Stoick?'' Asked Gobber.

Meanwhile in the backroom Hiccup had finished drawing. He pulled back the curtain and approached his father and Gobber. They didn't seem to notice him. They were still talking. Hiccup quickly hid behind the curtain of the backroom and listened quietly to the conversation.

''He's too small'' he heard Stoick say. ''He'll never be strong enough to be a real Viking.''

Hiccup widened his eyes. His father had always defended him in public. He knew the rest of the village thought this, but he didn't know his own father thought this too. He had heard enough. He walked back inside the backroom. Suddenly he no longer felt the need to show Gobber his drawing.

However, he didn't hear the rest of what Stoick was saying. ''He will never be a Viking. That's what almost everyone in the village says.'' Gobber patted his friend on the back.

''Ah, cheer up Stoick. Who cares what the rest of the village thinks. He's just five years old. He'll get better and then those people will take back everything they said.''

''I know Gobber. It's just hard to train him everyday while I also have so much to do in the village.'' Said Stoick. He walked towards the door.

''Anyways, take care of Hiccup. Don't get him near the fire, don't let him touch sharp objects, keep your eyes on him and stop telling him those troll stories.''

''When have I ever done that?'' said Gobber with a big smirk. Stoick glared at him before heading out.

A few hours later, Stoick had taken Hiccup back home. Hiccup had been very quiet the rest of the day. He had always been quiet but not around Stoick or Gobber. Usually he would talk all day long and ask weird questions such as: ''Why do we eat?'' or ''Why is grass green?''

Hiccup went straight up the stairs to his room when he got home. Stoick didn't pay much attention to it. He still had many things to do like planning the next search for the dragon nest.

That night Hiccup had trouble sleeping. He couldn't stop thinking about what his father had said. He wasn't Viking material. He had always known it, Snotlout said it almost daily, but he had never cared. He didn't even want to be Viking material. His father loved him the way he was. Or so he thought.

This was a very new feeling. He had never felt the need to prove himself worthy of the title of his father's son. But now he wanted nothing more. He had made up a plan. Tomorrow would be a new day. He would convince his father to come with him while he was doing a round through the village as the chief and he would help him with that.

The next morning Hiccup climbed downstairs. His father was already sitting at the table, eating breakfast while whittling a duck out of wood. Hiccup sat down in the chair opposite of Stoick. He cleared his throat slightly to get his father's attention.

''Ah, Hiccup. You're up early. I will bring you to Gobber in about an hour. Then I'll- '' Hiccup cut him off before he could finish.

''Dad, can I come with you today?'' said Hiccup nervously.

Stoick looked surprised. ''Why? I thought you didn't like watching me help people in the village.''

Hiccup laughed nervously. ''Oh, you know. I just wanted to spend some time with my father. Nothing wrong with that right?''

''Alright, you can come with me. But you're only watching. So, no helping or anything until I say so and you need to stay close to me. Do not wander off. Agreed?''

''Agreed'' said Hiccup, crossing his fingers behind his back.

About an hour later they were on their way to the first task. Stoick had to go to the barn because the last dragon raid had apparently damaged the roof of the building.

Finally, they reached the barn. The damage was visible from a mile away. Large parts of the roof where missing and the front of the building was scorched. Stoick started talking to Sven and Bucket about the damage.

In the meantime, Hiccup was looking at the building. His father would have to check the damage himself later and he would never be able to get inside because the entrance had been blocked by the parts of the roof that had fallen. There was a tiny hole at the side of the barn and Hiccup knew he would fit through it.

He sneaked towards the barn as quietly as possible and crawled through the hole. The inside was a complete mess. Luckily Sven and Bucket had managed to get the animals out before they were crushed but the roof was practically on the floor.

The damage was huge. He pulled a plank out of the way, so he could clear the entrance. That was a huge mistake.

As soon as he had pulled that plank, the already fragile building collapsed.

Stoick saw it all happening. At first, he didn't really care. The building was damaged already anyway. But then he noticed his son was no longer standing behind him.

He rushed to the barn and started digging through the mess of scorched wood until he saw a bit of brown hair sticking out.

He pushed away a large plank and found his son hiding under some planks that had luckily kept the largest part of the building from crushing him.

His son was unharmed and just a bit shaken. He was beyond relieved but that didn't mean he was happy.

''Hiccup! What were you thinking?! I told you very clearly before we got here that you would stay close to me and would not go inside the barn!'' Yelled Stoick.

Hiccup looked up at his father. This was not his plan at all. ''I uh…I-I checked the damage. It is very bad…'' said Hiccup. He honestly knew nothing else to say.

Stoick sighed. He pulled Hiccup up and they walked to Gobber's forge together once again. When they were there Hiccup went to the backroom almost immediately. Gobber approached Stoick.

''Alright, what happened?'' Stoick told him everything. Gobber was quite surprised.

''It's not going to work Gobber. If I can't trust Hiccup to follow orders, then how can I ever trust him to do what I say when he's wielding a weapon?''

''Well, I think you're overreacting. He messed up one time. Okay, he destroyed an entire building but… can't think of a but. Anyways, I think I've got an idea. You want Hiccup to stay safe but at the same time make himself useful? Why not let him work here? Said Gobber.

Stoick frowned at him. ''Work here? Have you hit your head with the forge hammer again? He's only five Gobber. Besides, he doesn't have any experience with blacksmithing.''

Gobber laughed. ''Ever looked at your boy? He's a creative lad. Every single drawing, he shows me is idea for a new object I could make. Never made those but he sure is interested in making things. I asked him to make some nails for me yesterday and he did well for a boy with no experience. He can be my apprentice. That way I can teach him everything I know while also keeping an eye on him.''

Stoick chuckled. ''Alright Gobber, you convinced me. But promise to keep an eye on him. I don't want him getting into even more trouble.''

Gobber smiled. Stoick left the shop and soon enough Gobber was teaching Hiccup the basics of blacksmithing. Hiccup was a fine apprentice and strangely enough got himself into more trouble every year. Until ten years later, getting into trouble caused him to meet the creature that would become his best friend for the rest of his life.

 **Okay, so this was the story. Just a quick one so I hope you like it! The grammar is probably terrible but I'm not actually English so I'm already glad I can communicate normally in English. Have a nice day and send a review please! I love reviews!**


End file.
